POLOKWANE – Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) enthusiasts enjoyed plenty of fights with big punches and lots of blood during Cage Rage 6 titled, The Revenge, which was held at Eksteen’s Rainbow Nation Martial Arts Dojo last Friday evening.
The crowd roared as two rivals, Paul Kubannek of Wild West Warriors Polokwane and Tyron Rodrigues, the defending champion who is not affiliated with any club, faced each other in the cage in the final fight.
Rodrigues retained the belt and won R5 000 in prize money in the Last Man Standing South African WIMMAAO Championship for the third consecutive year after winning the last bout against Kubannek.
“This makes him the first fighter ever to be entered into the WIMMAAO Hall of Fame,” said promoter, Henri Eksteen.
Rodrigues qualified for the world championships in Nigeria, scheduled to take place in July.
Kubannek, the runner-up, left the cage on a stretcher after Rodrigues kept him in a choke hold to win the fight. Kubannek sustained no serious injuries and was released from hospital the next day.
In the knock-out stages of the Last Man Standing tournament, a fight between Kubannek and Rodrigues had to be stopped twice due to the fighters’ injuries.
“For the first time in Cage Rage history we had to stop a fight twice to mop up the blood on the mat,” Eksteen explained. Another record was shattered when Flippie Venter of Wild West Warriors Gauteng, the second runner-up knocked out his opponent in only three seconds, bettering the previous record of five seconds.
In total, 23 fighters from Polokwane, Gauteng, Mokopane and Tzaneen competed in the tournament. The next Cage Rage will take place in June.
The organisers said they would like to thank sponsors South Africa Paramedic Services, Eksteen MMA, Shanana Upholsterers, Queen Properties and Events and DJ Divan.
Anyone interested in fighting in or sponsoring the next Cage Rage can contact Eksteen at 081 316 9545.
